1

Because I know anger destroys
I learn to acquire temperance

2
Because I respect people's rights
they accept me

3

Because I know flattery is poisonous
I don't swallow sugar-coated words

4

Because I am willing to help
the rewards I receive outweigh all my expectations

5

Because I know there's always a better way to say things
I learn to choose the right words

PITCHING TENT

Where should you pitch your tent?
Have you studied the terrain?

Will the winds be too strong?
Is it too close to the sea?

Is it disease-infested?
Are there dangerous animals?

Can you find enough wood
to make fire in the winter?

Can you find water?
Where are your sources of food?

Do you have enough warm clothes?
Can your tent withstand heavy storms?

Are there wild people there
with ready spears in their hands?

Have you counted the cost in your mind
of what you have left behind?

Can you bear the loneliness?
what made you decide to leave civilisation?

The next ship will arrive only in twenty years
will you live in fear and tears?

Think, think over - make sure
this is the right decision

Once you have pitched your tent
there is no turning back.

1

Because of my past failures
I analyse my mistakes.

2

Because life is hard
I should not make the lives of others any harder

3

Because I take no one's side in any dispute
I am free from blame.

4

Because I discard trivia and non-essentials
I perform more effectively

5

Because I know my limitations
I focus on sharpening the edges of my competence

1

Because I don't know
I ask

2
Because I don't  know enough
I don't comment

3

Because things are never constant
I acquire flexibility and adaptability

4

Because I know my territoriality
I don't infringe on my neighbour's rights

5

Because I can't please everybody
I don't fear rejection or disapproval

HAPPINESS COURSES--FOR SALE

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remember the H letter
the first course starts next week
the sooner you enrol, the better

25% discount to the first 50 applicants
payment by credit card, cash or bank transfer
our dean was an ex-university philosophy professor
every one of our staff is an H-transmittor

We know your life is miserable
and you need help but have nowhere to go
we shall guide you every step of the way
you will soon be an H-person if our lessons you faithfully follow

Nota bene---no refund will be entertained
Read our Terms And Conditions-- Section Twenty
you will be entitled to a 30% discount for our Advanced H Course
after which we shall award you with an HPD--'Happy Person Degree'

1

'Practise your piano'
little girl is none too pleased
a silent tear drops

2

Winds in the desert
chase the sand into the air
camels shut their eyes

3

No stars in the sky
the moon hides behind grey clouds
the autumn winds sigh

4

Winds over the waves
a seagull catches a fish
a dinghy sails by

5

Late spring evening
a cottage stands on a hill
old man smokes his pipe

1

Because I know my imperfections
others I don't judge

2

Because I don't listen to rumours
I am not confused

3

Because I don't over-stretch
I keep my balance

4

Because I mind my own business
others leave me to myself

5

Because I am not a member of any club
I keep my independence

1

Because I wait
what I desire comes in the fullness of time

2

Because I control my impulse
I avoid rash decisions

3

Because I share the sorrows of others
I acquire humanity

4

Because I share
richer is my life

5

Because I count myself less
I acquire humility

1

Because I obey my heart
I love

2

Because I cry
myself I purify

3

Because I suffer
I acquire patience and endurance

4

Because I am content
I have everything

5

Because I observe
I learn

1
Because I strive with none
none strives with me

2
Because I don't go to the Money-Place
greed I avoid

3

Because I don't argue
I am free from dispute

4

Because I choose to sit at the last row
no one notices me

5

Because I am not in the race
I suffer from no disappointment

1
Because I pause
I think

2  Because I stop
I see

3  Because I am silent
I hear

4
    Because I am still
I am unshaken

5

Because I know my station
I am never out of place

Every day
is a new territory
what would it be?

terrain
not the same--never-
what should I endeavour?

my heart
with so many a string
what would it sing?

my hands
willing
doing what thing?

my words
many or few
am I saying something new?

among people
at home, in the streets and the work-place
would I act with warmth, sincerity and grace?

to myself
I must answer-truthfully
did I act dutifully and compassionately?

What should I do
with this burden
of self?
weariness-laden

while time's restless wheels
turn and turn
inexorably
through each season

at the end of the spectrum
old age hangs--where light doesn't glisten
where life harshly and mindlessly grinds
and no hopes beckon

there's no turning back
useless it is to reason
everything perishes at the end
the last journey into the unknown knows no return

then there's no longer
self---end of burden

Mankind!
who dares stand up
and declare
man is kind
the vilest two-legged monster
who leaves trails of pain and suffering behind?

man -creature of the worst kind
he should be defined
as ' the most unkind'
to goodness and morality-blind

evolution--what evolution
when it brings but destruction?
progress-what progress?
all that **** sapiens does
is to maim and oppress
and hopes of a brighter dawn
fade, wither and die

every future generation
will write
about man's inhumanity and madness
and weep
as no redemption
is in sight

civilisation has collapsed
as man
is  wicked
cruel
and perpetually
un-kind

We are all dreamers
how else could we have lived
in a desolate and lonely world
where life is struggling to breathe
and the heart is bereft and  barren
seeking consolation and relief?

we dream
because it's through dreams
we create a new world
and become what we aspire to be
the dross drops away
the dust vanishes
weeds disappear
to be replaced by
radiant flowers that burst
into the fresh and welcoming air
and what is before us
starts to shine
like the brightest light of day

they are the visionaries
who have the courage to dream
defying all that which destroys
love, charity and beauty
they are the harbingers
of a new era
torch-bearers
to light up the world
the hope-givers
who will set every human heart free

The elderly-they
have dreams too
like the young

but
when they get up
they don't want to recall

not with the young
who want to go back to sleep again
their dreams are real
and they can't let  go--
love so tempting
beauty so alluring
passions so compelling
hopes so promising
(between the dreaming and waking
is a thin line--miracles in the making?)
'Those who dare dream
transmute sand into gold
and what could be stronger than the ardour of youth' ?
they claim

here is where the difference lies:

the dreams of old age are angst-full
burnt-out and decaying fields
that have swallowed once red -blooming roses
and left behind a trail of desolation and tears
( dreams that return but to mock and chastise)

dreams are partial to youth
and resurrect to punish the old

I am just words
how many did I speak yesterday?
today is making demands on me
what should I say

but about the same words
with some variations-- subtract there, add here?
my words appear quicker than I can think
Oh dear, oh dear!

I am not a robot or automaton
I am human--I should not be mechanistic
but words rule my life and are tyrannous
they know too many a cunning trick

I must study my words-bank
delete what has made me a fool
a new vocabulary I should acquire
like a little child starting school.

I walked in
none noticed me
I was having a drink
the pub was noisy

then entered a  pretty young lady
and asked: May I sit next to you?-so gently
what's your name?
mine is Lily

I'll buy you a drink--I said
' I'm from far-country
500 miles away
came to see my boy-friend Henry

but he didn't turn up
the neighbour said he had moved away
he broke my heart
what a sad day!

(suddenly her mobile started to ring)
her face brightened up as she spoke: Yes darling
is that really you ? O Henry, O I love you Henry
then rushed to the door--Sir-thanks for the drink!'

I walked in
none noticed me
I was having a drink
the pub was noisy

then entered a  pretty young lady
and asked: May I sit next to you?-so gently
what's your name?
mine is Lily

I'll buy you a drink--I said
' I'm from far-country
500 miles away
came to see my boy-friend Henry

but he didn't turn up
the neighbour said he had moved away
he broke my heart
what a sad day!

(suddenly her mobile started to ring)
her face brightened as she spoke: Yes darling
is that really you, O Henry, O I love you Henry
then rushed to the door--Sir-thanks for the drink!

Life has two doors
marked 'Entry' and 'Exit'
you pay your rent as tenant
after which the landlord would say--'Quit!'

An old man am I
too old but I hang on
still too young to die

and not wanting to die
means wanting to live--to write-
come and visit me if  you should pass by

' Live well'--two words that transcend the highest philosophy
  It's up to you--unless you want to live in self-imposed misery

The law is the law
It must be upheld though it contains a flaw

My teacher said: You would never be good enough
You have none of the intellectual stuff
What's your future plan?
None Sir,  perhaps, I'd strive to be a con-man

If you are dead, you are no longer alive
If you are alive, you are not dead
Ipso facto (what's so hard to understand?)
What further light can philosophy shed?

At the end
everything breaks up-a tiny
drop of water falling incessantly
on the biggest rock dissolves it over time--completely

if you love truly
and breathe into a dew-drop
it would transform into an eternal ocean
there would be no end--no full-stop.

Goodbyes
even for a while
bring tears to my eyes

Partir, c'est mourir un peu--it's true
each time a little we die
but life is such--what else could we do?

This I do know
every moment we should love and cherish
before we pack up our bags to go

to our next destination in life--faraway
who does know whether we would meet again
on a distant future day?

Love builds but also destroys
often it behaves like naughty girls and boys
who in tantrums throw away their toys
which they started loving but later found such were no longer joys

Violin music floats in the cold midnight air
echoing over and over again
who is the player?
the music seems to speak of so much pain

Who, who are you out there?
I don't know you but can feel
the depth of sorrow in your lonely heart
are you saying: Lost love would never heal?

Why is love in old age more than love
and why is it that  love in youth falls far short of love?

One descending dew-drop to another: Farewell dear
Within a short while on landing we would forever disappear

Anyone and everyone can write
what percentage do you think is right?

Everyday is the same
even your own name

Too many poets died unhappy
they took their poetry too seriously.

I was advised by a learned friend
' Live life logically'
I shuddered and thought:
This is not for me

Every situation would then become
A reasoning process: the pros and cons I should consider
Examine every detail lest I regret
Would I have the time? I wonder

'Logic makes your life good', he did add
' You will succeed beyond measure'
   He was a professor of science
   But his advice I didn't treasure.

   See me walking in the green field
   Loitering by the quiet river-side
   Hear me singing a song at a far corner
   I follow my heart---by logic I don't abide

Time said to me, pompously
'I have had enough of you
don't you realise
I have done you favours--many?

I replied, not angrily
but soberly:
'  I asked for none
  all that I did or
  didn't do
  throughout my life
was the outcome
of my being born into the world
to play my small part
lest I fail myself and others around

how could I have taken advantage of you
as you are known
for your parsimony?
indeed mankind regards
you as tyranny

I count you neither
as friend or enemy

you have your things to do
and I have mine
it was you who raised the question
we should just stop talking
I have work to do
responsibilities to bear--so many

You have had enough of me?
but I have the right to be around
life is an open book
and a real democracy
so, respect my right to be
my integrity
I am not a garrulous
or recalcitrant person
just a simple bloke
who likes to live a quiet life
taking care of my own business
and not one
to poke my nose
into what others do
as you are doing
right now to me

I want to keep my boundary
and not have you lecturing to me
I am a free man, in every way--free
don't you have the humility
to understand and see?

You have had enough of me
it's your opinion
do I really have to listen) ? '

No, I am not a legislator
of the world*
only a voice
a tiny voice
( vox clamantis in deserto)
but the winds
shall carry the words I write
and scatter them
over faraway fields
mountains and seas
wherever destiny bids

somewhere
somehow
someone would get to know me

just words
words drawn
from the blood of my heart
words I have lived with all my life
and loved like the most passionate lover
words that have made me stronger
than I could ever  have imagined
words that have made me cry

they began so innocently
and I toyed with them
one by one
syllable by syllable
phrase by phrase
sentence by sentence

eureka!
I  have discovered
words are alive
they give meaning
to all that is in life
and above all
they define what I am
and have given me
the building-blocks
of
what is
what is not
what should be
what should not be
how to
how not to
to be
or not to be

the jigsaw puzzle
pieces are coming together
and a clear picture is emerging
( a long drawn-out process
but how rewarding!)

Words I no longer could leave behind
and they would not want to release me
then the day came
when I realised
I became words personified

no, I am not just flesh and blood
any more
think of me then
as nothing else
but words
just words

THE ARTIST'S SOLILOQUY*

I reproduce the world
in pictures
man in himself
in life
and in the universe
this eternal inter-play
is the sanctum
of all my works

I am a visionary
(a humble one
but no less sensitive)
I cry more than I laugh
as the world is the place
where mankind's tears fall
without end
due to man's own making

the heart desires
what it should not
for things
that don't sanctify
but man is weak
and morally falls
too easily
and drowns
in the nameless sea

nature weeps
for the callousness and greed
of man
who has her beauty defiled
and marred

progress
what progress?
it's just the breeding-ground
of greed and indifference

bulldozers knock
down the trees
chemicals pollute the seas
grasslands and fields
are sacrificed for construction
land has turned into concrete--***** and ugly

as I paint
my heart
is heavy-laden
and I ask
over and over again
what has happened to man?

World-focused and-world-rich,  heart-poor
    plethora of words--void of  content-
    slogans---speakers' delusions
    kindness--a weak word
   power--the deadly kiss
  (but those who wield can't see this)
   peace---it has gone to the bin
   war---the death of conscience
  love---has gone asleep
  ( often bottled up with the tightest cork)
  lies---survival tools
  (they bring rewards)
   friendship---size no bigger
    than a flower
   (can't compare with the size of any ship)
    wisdom--'wish-dom?'
    courtesy--everyone wants to be
    first in the line--can't you see I am busy?
   the ego--no boundaries does it know
   money---to have more is healthy
  (you with none--what a pity!)
   tomorrow--what tomorrow?
   ( today is the reward--the next day is too late)

     like the flower
     forgotten and neglected
     deprived of sunlight
     it begins to shrivel
    then it withers
    and dies

    man has lost his heart
    morally and sadly he dies-
    death of the worst kind

I am not ready yet
(far from it)
to allow my heart
to take over my life
it's still tainted and blemished
(the past its stories unfold)
and I am not even at the threshold
of self-realisation
nay, so far away
looking through
the distant deceptive mist
half-lost, tired and bewildered
while time is gnawing at my feet
I hesitate, I doubt, I tremble in the cold
like one trapped alone
in the depth of the desolate Arctic
without sleigh, food or water
what next?

the ice on which I stand is breaking
the cruel winds are lashing
my head is swimming
my strength is waning
and I say to myself:
I shall perish
and be buried in the snow

(here a miracle starts to unfold)
my heart
suddenly speaks to me:  
be a man
stand up and walk on

is that an illusion?
no--it's not

The ice suddenly turns into solid ground
and I walk into the sunshine of a summer day

My heart speaks again:
patience
patience
patience

and I begin to understand

Motto for today-
be silent
be still
be calm

close your eyes
for a while

breathe in
deeply
breathe out
slowly

be not in a hurry
(that's a step
closer to being happy)

step back
observe
listen

watch every word you say
such that
you don't offend
nor should you get
in someone's way

it's another day
and everyone is doing 'their thing'
as in a stage-play
some would be so eager
themselves and their wit to display
let them be
it's their day
(not for you to say)

but to myself
I can say-
put your ego
away-
it will be a great day.

Thus speaks the mind:
put away your MRI machine
I am beyond matter
my latent potency it can't detect
I am invisible and amorphous
even I am not aware of my own mystery
and what propels me
to do what I do
I know no boundaries
as I am seamless

and strangest of all
I don't even know what I am
however hard I try

I have a million questions
but have no answer

so take your machine away-
you are just wasting your time
trying to define me-
the unidentifiable, the incomprehensible and the immaterial

1

The centipede bumped into the spider on the same leaf
and said:  I've been looking for you the whole day--what a relief!

2
The hooked fish looked its captor in the eye
and said: I'll curse you from your stomach until you die

3

The envious star said to its neighbour:
I'll outshine you in splendour

4
The dog approached the frightful mouse
and said: I won't eat you--there's a lot of food in this house

5

One fish said to another--let me see your eyes
you should see a marine ophthalmologist, I surmise

A MYSTERY BEYOND MYSTERIES

Outer space/the cosmos where elements collide/stars are born and die/
wonders and mysteries of the universe/beyond human comprehension /that which cannot be expressed sets limits on language and thought/we and the universe live in co-existence and are bound together by a mystery beyond mysteries/we live on as the universe/ we live forever as the universe does not die

Philosophy I don't value much
but more the human heart
philosophers are selfishly speculative
too eager their theories to expound and impart

Ignore not the common man
whose life is by his myriad experiences profoundly marked
carved from the stone of suffering and pain
infinitely more poignant than the world where philosophy has embarked.

Let me sing my song to you
  ere the evening its dimming shadows cast
  let me say how much I love you
  over and over again--this won't be the last

Let me hold your hand
ere mine is too frail some day
look into my eyes that are no longer bright
ere time steals all our tenderest moments away

You do not win because you are smart
you have first to acquire the winning-art

That which is rigid its own boundaries  sets
  that which is stretchable goes a long way
  that which is tall  unwanted attention attracts
  that which is low and humble wins the day

It's in forgetting the self
that you are set free
the sticky ego would perish
the mind feeds on nothing as it's empty

that which is empty has no boundary
and everything does it encircle
that which is full soon spills over in excess
he who is relieved of the burden of self is his own miracle

1

' I am deadly serious!' you said
My reply: ' Sue me then--when you are dead!'

2  
   Charlie, what should we do with Charlie Sheen?
   He would never come clean
   He takes delight in creating any public scene
   And often he's quite obscene!

3
    Two men argued in the tram vehemently
    Over the definitions of  'monkey' and 'chimpanzee'
    They went into a rage--came to blows--nearly
    A third man came along and said: 'Please respect our ancestry'  

4

     World population to grow to 9.7 billion
      By 2050 from the present level of 7.3
      The downside is food scarcity
      The upside is --fewer of us would suffer from obesity!

5
         I don't care much about money
         (But truthfully I do have have plenty)
         Only when I reach 123
          Would  I give away my money to charity